CHEVY CHASE, Md. — Change is coming quickly to the Boy Scouts of
America after years of turmoil and debate over its membership policy,
with an openly gay 17-year-old in Maryland achieving the highest rank of
Eagle Scout.

On Monday night, Boy Scout Troop 52 of Chevy Chase, one of the nation's
oldest, formed a circle and gave Pascal Tessier sustained applause and
some handshakes and pats on the back. His achievement comes just weeks
after the organization lifted its ban on gay youth and may make him the
first publicly gay Eagle approved under the new policy.

Scoutmaster Don Beckham walked to the middle of the Scout circle after a
series of announcements about supplies for the next campout and
announced the 17-year-old Tessier was officially the troop's newest
Eagle. For Tessier, it represents six years of work, 27 merit badges and
projects in service, leadership and outdoor skills. He put all that at
risk, though, to advocate publicly against the Scouts ban on gays.

"A Scout is brave," Beckham told the troop, quoting from the Boy Scout Law after presenting Tessier his Eagle badge.

"To be a leader, there are going to be situations where you are going
to have to stand up for what you believe is right," Beckham said. "You
may be asked to make personal sacrifices, to potentially give up your
dreams because you are helping to make something happen that is
important for a lot of other people. ... And when it's a principle that
you believe in, use your Scout training and stand up for what is right
because a Scout is brave."

Tessier's mom, Tracie Felker, looked on with other parents and said it
was "a new era." The fight over the Boy Scouts' membership policy has
persisted for decades, including a Supreme Court decision in 2000.

For more than a year, Tessier, who lives in the Washington, D.C.,
suburb of Kensington, has been one of the most prominent openly gay
scouts speaking out to change the Scouts' longstanding ban. After a vote
last year, the organization of 2.5 million youth members officially
opened its doors to include all boys, regardless of sexual orientation. A
ban on gay adult leaders remains in place.

While there is no official tracking of gay members, Tessier is likely
the nation's first openly gay Eagle approved under the new policy,
according to the advocacy group Scouts for Equality.

Tessier's brother, Lucien Tessier, who also is gay and an Eagle Scout,
launched an online petition last year gathering 130,000 signatures on
Change.org after a local Scout official said it would be impossible for
Pascal Tessier to complete his Eagle rank if he is openly gay.

For Tessier less than a year later, it's "a huge sigh of relief" to
finally have his Eagle badge approved by the Scouts' national
headquarters in Irving, Texas.

"Even if I had been kicked out along the way, I wouldn't have changed
anything," he said. "The whole experience was something worth having,
not only for myself but also for all the other people involved — and for
all the people it affects."

Even though he had a supportive troop with its own all-inclusive
policy, Tessier said he wanted to speak out about the Boy Scouts'
national policy after seeing other gay scouts or leaders kicked out or
denied the Eagle rank in recent years, including the high profile case
of Ryan Andresen, a California teen. Despite the success in changing the
Scouts' policy, Tessier said he plans to continue advocating.

"On my 18th birthday, I'm planning on applying to be an adult leader for the Boy Scouts so that we push the issue," he said.

I have friends in MD who are seriously involved in the Boy Scouts - so much that their kids are adults and they still volunteer and help out they were talking about this the other day and were very proud to be so inclusive

Quoting jjames1990: So awesome and I love that it happened in my state. I really think MD is going to become the new age state. Love it.

My aunt and uncle are 60, their kids are adults and they still lead troops. It makes me giggle to see them in their uniforms. Lol

Quoting mikiemom:

I have friends in MD who are seriously involved in the Boy Scouts - so much that their kids are adults and they still volunteer and help out they were talking about this the other day and were very proud to be so inclusive

Quoting jjames1990: So awesome and I love that it happened in my state. I really think MD is going to become the new age state. Love it.

haha- that is how I feel We are sort of immersed in it, with my three boys shortly obtaining Eagle here in CA. My husband is a local board member. I always crack up when the men, many with oversize bellies, wear shorts and scout uniforms... add the hat and it's really funny. (They get a bit annoyed when I laugh but I really can't help it.) I call it the peacock club... :)

Quoting jjames1990: My aunt and uncle are 60, their kids are adults and they still lead troops. It makes me giggle to see them in their uniforms. Lol

Quoting mikiemom:

I have friends in MD who are seriously involved in the Boy Scouts - so much that their kids are adults and they still volunteer and help out they were talking about this the other day and were very proud to be so inclusive

Quoting jjames1990: So awesome and I love that it happened in my state. I really think MD is going to become the new age state. Love it.